H.S. football: Alabama joins Kareem Walker pursuit

Kareem Walker has been courted by top college football programs since he was an underclassmen at DePaul.

The Kareem Walker recruiting frenzy continued Tuesday, when Alabama became the latest high-profile FBS program to offer the DePaul sophomore running back a scholarship.

Walker now has offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Temple, Tennessee and Wake Forest. His list of options figures to grow to at least twice that size before his junior season begins later this year.

"This is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced here," said John McKenna, who recently completed his ninth season as DePaul’s head coach. "We’ve had kids get a lot of offers, but not these kinds of offers this early. It’s been incredible."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Walker, an East Orange resident, impressed college scouts with his speed, power and size during a sophomore season in which he helped DePaul win its first state championship since 1992. Walker split carries with Rhode Island-bound back Markey Clark, yet still rushed for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns on only 115 carries in 11 games.

"He didn’t look like a sophomore," McKenna said, "and he definitely didn’t play like a sophomore."

Walker was part of a 10-2 team that included five seniors who earned scholarships.